Sometimes The Truth Hurts, And The Lies Help
by A Runner At Heart
Summary: "Sometimes Cammie, things happen for the best. Sometimes, it's not the immediate results, but the chain reaction that follows. Sometimes, things happen, because they have to happen. But you can't do anything about the past. You have to build up on it. Become stronger. Be there for others. You can't think of all the things you would've done different."
1. Chapter 1

**Sometimes The Truth Hurts, And The Lies Help**

**By: A Runner At Heart**

**8/10/2012**

**Dedicated To "beagoodegirl" (Credit goes to her for title)**

**Before anyone asks, this is ****_NOT_**** the sequel to "Because Love Means Facing Your Biggest Fears, And Trusting"**

"Cammie, what is the meaning of this?" Cammie heard her father ask. She grimaced, already knowing what he was asking. She had planned to hide her unfinished project, but in the end, she didn't do a good job of hiding it.

"Dad, I can explain, I know it's due today, but I can use my free period to d-"

"Cammie, you can't keep doing this. You have to try. You know your mother and I can't support your college funds, you have to make the grades." She hung her head shamefully. She loved her father. In fact, they were closer than most kid are with their father. She guessed that guess being poor did that. The Morgans never came from a rich background, and no matter how smart they were, it wasn't enough to get into college. Yep, they only had high school diplomas, in fact, no one from Cammie's family a college degree.

"Cammie, I thought last time was the last. I'm very disappointed in you." And with those final words, he left for the old, run down restaurant, that he called work. Grabbing her stuff, Cammie headed out the door towards the bus stop. She thought about what her dad said, and felt ashamed. Last night, Macey had asked her if she wanted to go bowling, the newest hang out place for all the "populars". Caught up in the moment, she'd said yes without a hesitation. It had been a blast. There had been tons of cute boys, guys who actually _flirted_ with _her,_ and Josh. The guy Cammie had a crush on since forever. And, hung up on the fact that he'd talked to her last night, she came home high on excitement (she knew better than to do drug and drink), and decided to skip her homework.

She sighed, now that she thought about it, she too was disappointed in herself. She came up to the bus stop, sitting on the cold cemented hard sidewalk. Winter was fast to approach, and she was hoping for a new jacket. The bus soon came, pulling up to a stop in front of her. Only a couple of kids ever rode the bus now days. Everyone had cars. Walking towards and empty seat, Cammie felt an unsettling feeling in her stomach. She ignored it though, and plopped down onto the rubber seat, and leaning her head against the window, fogging the glass up. Who knew that getting yelled at by her could've dad soured her mood so quickly? It just hurt to think that she had disappointed him. The bus soon came to a halt at her school, and the bus driver yelled for all the kids to get off. As her feet hit the concrete, she couldn't help but see the graying of the sky. Such an ominous feeling settled into her stomach.

"Cammie!" She heard Macey shout. She turned around, and seeing Macey's beaming face, a smile crossed onto her face as well. Her smiles were just that contagious.

"Last night was a blast, huh? And you were talking to Josh!" She looped her arms into Cammie's, and and they both smiled as they made their way into the school.

"Tell me _everything_ he said!" Cammie laughed, starting to revive what happened last night.

"...and he said he wanted to hang out some time!" She squealed at the end, thoughts of her dad's and that argument gone from her head. She didn't regret going last night, all she did was work, and she deserved some fun.

"Ooh, he so likes you! All these years, and all it took for him to like you was for you to be utterly horrible at bowling! He totally used that as an excuse to put his arm around you!" Macey was literally bouncing up and down.

"You two are totally going to go out again, understood," Macey asked, in which she replied with a nod of her head. "Good, we'll plan something at lunch!" And with that, they headed their way towards their classroom, both of theirs being in the opposite side of the building.

* * *

Smiling as she slammed her locker, Cammie spun the dial, resetting the locker. Already half way into the school day, and with a hungry stomach, she made her way towards the lunchroom, weaving her way towards the crowded mess of hungry teen. That was until her phone rang. Cammie the phone out, not knowing who it could be. Very few people knew her number, for her phone was only for in cases of emergency.

_Dad,_ flashed onto the screen, and she instantly picked up. He knew not to call during school, so it had to be pretty urgent.

"Dad?" She asked into the cell phone.

"Hello, is this Miss Morgan?" An unrecognizable voice asked. Her heart rate suddenly picked up. What if someone had kidnapped herdad and was asking for a ransom.

"Who is this?" She asked, suspicion creeping into her voice.

"This is Officer Person, head police of Roseville County Police Department. Now, may I ask again, is this Miss Morgan speaking?" She slowly calmed down, until it registered that this was a _police_ calling her, what would they want, and why use her dad's phone?

"Y-yes, this is Cameron Morgan speaking." She answered.

"We are sorry to inform you of this bad news, but your mother insisted you knew, and wanted us to notify you of the well being of your father." She stopped mid way towards her walk to the cafeteria. Seeing the dirty looks people shot her, she made her way towards the locker, out of the way of everyone.

"Your father happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was in an intersection where there was a wide range shooting going on. He was shot in the head. The bullet lodged deep inside. He was rushed to the hospital. He died on the way there." She dropped my phone, it crashing to the floor, shattering into many little pieces. The impact big enough to be heard over the chatter of everyone. Loud enough for everyone to stop and turn their heads towards her. Her hand flew to her mouth and then she fell towards the ground.

_Dead. Dead. Dead. My father was dead. Dead._

And that was when the water works leaked.

The tears cascaded down her face, as loud, unattractive sobs wracked through her body, escaping from her mouth. Her body trembled as she cried. Her heart ached, like it was being twisted with a knife. She felt like _she_ was dying.

_I'm very disappointed in you. I'm very disappointed in you. I'm very disappointed in you. I'm very disappointed in you. I'm very disappointed in you._

The last words her father ever spoke to her. Probably the last thought he had. Crying even harder, Cammie's back fell against the locker. Then, she heard the whispering. Looking up, the tears still falling like the Niagara Falls, her eyes met the many stairs of her classmate who all were watching her. Wanting to shoot back a witty comment, like "don't you know it's rude to stair", she opened her mouth, but a sob escaped, sounding much like a hiccup. She must have looked hideous. Then, out of the sea of faces, a boy came up to her. She looked back to the floor, crying even harder.

Embarrassment. Hurt. Sadness. Guilt.

Emotions flooded through her body. A hand was gently placed onto her shoulder.

"There's nothing to see everybody. Go to lunch before all the hot food is gone," a guys voice said. She still kept her head down.

_My father. Of all people, my dad. My daddy._

"Hey." A voice said beside her. She lifted her head, looking up into bright emerald eyes. She instantly recognized the boy. Zach. Zachary Goode. He was the only boy in the school with these eyes. He was a quiet boy. Quiet and shy. They's had a few classes in the past, and occasionally talked if they were paired for partners, but other than that, she didn't really know him. She looked back down. The tears still came, but her eyes became heavy, slowing my tears down. She felt Zach shuffle, and soon he was sitting right next to her.

"My dad." She whispered to no one in particular. Zach grabbed her hand, rubbing it.

"It's all my fault." She whimpered. Zach stopped rubbing for a second, but then continued on.

"No matter what it is, it's not your fault Cammie. In fact, blaming yourself doesn't help. It makes you feel worse. It weakens you. Trust me, I know." Zach said, speaking softly, the way he usually spoke. Soft and gentle.

"You don't know, you don't know what happened." She said, slamming her head against the locker, making a big bang, scaring herself.

"True, I don't. But what good is it to blame yourself? Why do you want to make yourself feel bad? Do you think it's going to help you, or hinder you?"

"He died." _He died. He died. He's dead. Dead._ With each thought, she cried, harder and harder. Her eyes closed for a second. The pain in her heart to big to even contain.

_My father_.

Zach put his arm around her, and soon she found herself in his embrace. In any other situation, she'd have reeled back from him, or any other person, but she just sank into his arms. His hug reminded her so much of the ones her father gave. Hugs that made you feel safe. With those big arms, wrapped around her small body. Those kinds of hugs she'd never get from him ever again.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" She said, so softly, she doubt Zach even heard.

"Sometimes Cammie, things happen for the best. Sometimes, it's not the immediate results, but the chain reaction that follows. Sometimes, things happen, because they have to happen. But you can't do anything about the past. You have to build up on it. Become stronger. Be there for others. You can't think of all the things you would've done different. You learn from what had happened." Zach said, resting his head on top of her. Her tears started to stop, but the pain in her heart still kept growing. How was she supposed to just accept what happened, and move on. _My father was dead_. The bell soon rang, signaling the end of lunch. Despite missing it, she wasn't hungry anymore.

"Come on," Zach said, getting up, and holding out his hand. She took it, trying to smile, but couldn't. Zach bent over and picked up all her stuff, then, took me hand and led her down the hall.

* * *

Cammie sat waiting on the chair. Her eyes were still heavy, wanting to close, but she still saw the sympathetic glanced occasionally thrown her way, and that kept her awake. The doors to the office soon busted open, and there stood her mom, tears streaking down her face.

"Cammie!" She cried, flinging herself towards Cammie. Cammie felt tears prick the corner of her eyes, but she didn't let them fall, instead she hugged her mom back. The sympathetic glances were starting to bother Cammie though, so she picked up her stuff, pulled her mother with her, and headed out the school. She saw the taxi her mom had taken, and went inside. Her mother seemed in a far worser condition, so she told the driver her address, and he started the car back up. As they left the school, she heard the bell ring, and saw the hallways being flooded with kids. One person caught her eyes. Zach was walking down the hall, in the craze of it all, he got pushed roughly into a locker. He brushed it off, and started walking down the hall, and seeing that, she realized she never got to thank that green-eyed boy.

* * *

**Okay, I know, I'm supposed to be writing a sequel, but here I am writing something sad like this. This plot was nagging my brain and I had to write it, and decided to post it in the end. Now, with this idea out, I can focus again on my sequel!**

**So, what do you all think? I don't know if I should continue this, so feedback would be ****_greatly_**** appreciated!**

**Hope you all can take the time to review!**

**Love,**

**A Runner At Heart**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sometimes The Truth Hurts, And The Lies Help**

**By: A Runner At Heart**

**1/1/2013**

She hated the mockery of the day. The sun was shining brightly, sweat dripping off her face. Despite her mother's request, she wore black. All black, covering her from head to toe. And now, she regretted it. But how could she wear her cute floral summer shirt, with the new jean shorts she bought just two weeks ago, when it was her father's _funeral?_ How could she wear such an outfit in _December? _How is it, that the sun burned so brightly, the temperature in the mid eighties, the children in the park just across the cemetery laughing, enjoying the rareness in this kind of weather? And all on her father's funeral.

For Cammie, that was _mockery_.

And even now, she felt disgusted with her mother. With Macey. Basically, with everyone on this planet. How could a funeral feel like a _party_? She watched her mother flirt away with her boss. Macey showing off more skin then necessary. And the snide comments she heard. People whispering that the death of Mathew Morgan caused his only daughter to go into madness. I mean, who in the world would be wearing such ludicrous outfits as Cammie.

But, in the end, after all the surface emotion, she just felt emptiness.

She glanced at Macey, and sighed. She loved her (as a friend of course), but after all these emotions, she realized that Macey, never really was the picture of a best friend. She was bossy, and at first Cammie admired it, but now, she couldn't stand it. In fact, she looked at everyone at the funeral (most she barely knew), and found something she despised about each and everyone. She remembered one of her teachers telling the class at the beginning of the school year, that one's ultimate best friend, was the one person who listened to them when they needed someone to talk to. And thinking back to that, who was Cammie's best friend, not Macey, that's for sure.

In fact, she knew exactly who.

Her father.

And he was dead. _Dead_. She accepted it. It hurt like crazy, but she knew that it was in the past, and there was no way of getting him back. Her heart still clenched, still felt like someone was twisting it with a fork, much like you do with pasta. But that was what Zach told her to do, and it was what _she_ was trying to do.

"Cammie!" She turned her head, and like _déjà vu, _Macey was running up to her, a smile on her face, though, unlike the first time, Cammie didn't smile back. She kept her solemn face. Now that she thought about it, Macey's smiles weren't contagious, Cammie just made herself believe they were.

"Guess what! I scored a _college guy_! He invited me to his party, and, well, I said yes!" Macey was bouncing up and down. Cammie looked at her happy face. She looked at her mom's arms around her boss's biceps, and everyone else, champagne in their hands, all mingling about. This was no funeral.

And that made Cammie run.

* * *

She ended up at the local froyo shop. How, she didn't know. She saw a swarm of kids come in, concluding that school was over.

_Great, I run only to come here, to these people._

She headed back to the way she came from, when she heard voices.

"Come on Zach, live a little!" Cammie turned around, only to see a bunch of Zach's friends pushing him into the shop.

"Guys, I don't like her, so please stop," he said exasperated. She saw the trouble in his face. She wondered why he was friends with those people anyways. They were all the jocks, hyped up on steroids, and the only friends, she like of his was Jonas. They were the ones who got in trouble, but strangely, even if Zach was with them, he never got in trouble. Maybe people just knew by looking at him.

That's how it was for her father. He was poor, but no one messed with him.

"Oh, we know you don't like her, but come one, it'll make you popular, well known, and well, she like's you, there no chase! It's easy and simple like that!" Grant, the biggest of the group said.

"No." Zach said with such firmity that it shocked Cammie. And with his final word, he stuffed his hands in his pocket (he was wearing a jacket even in this weather), put his head down, and walked in the direction that Cammie was in. She tried to hide behind the pillars in front of the many little shops, but ended up tripping and fell onto of the like weighted, iron table that was out for decoration. Zach looked up and smile as he saw the brown-haired girl, with her doe wide eyes, looking up at him guiltily.

"Hey," he said softly, giving her a hand to help her up.

"Hey back," she said, her voice hoarse from the combination of the endless crying she did during the funeral, the fact that she spoke no more than twenty words that week, and the fact that she'd ran probably more than two miles to get to where she was now. Zach took in her outfit and his eyes softened.

"How was it," he gently asked. She looked down, her hair covering her face.

"Horrible." Was her short, one word reply. Zach looked at her, and he had the urge to bring her into his arms. Over the years of comforting many, he'd always have the urge to take the pain away from anyone. Her hair was a mess, covering her face, and Zach restrained himself from tucking her hair behind her ears, fully aware of his friends watching his every move.

"Come on, let's go somewhere else," Zach whispered to her, and she looked back up at him. He gave her a small, genuine smile. She nodded her head, and he gently took her hand, every step they took, getting farther and farther away from Zach's judgmental friends.

* * *

"It's-it's-it just seems to wrong to me, you know? How, how could they act like that? Especially my mother..." Cammie trailed off, and looked up at Zach. He sat there, studying every word she said, giving her his full attention. He nodded his head in agreement, and something about the gesture made a small laugh escape her mouth. Zach looked up at her, and once he realized she was laughing at him, he to let out a few small chuckles as well.

They were both sitting in front of Zach's house, on the steps leading up to the door. Surprisingly, Zach had lived fairly close to Cammie, nothing but a short five minute's walk separating them, which made sense since both of them attended that same elementary school.

In fact, that itself also surprised Cammie. How could they have been in the same presence since they were five, yet just now did they talk to each other as friends, rather than partners in a project? Zach was a great person to hang out, and somehow, he always made you feel good about yourself. He was the perfect listener.

Just like Cammie's dad.

And that thought frightened her. She didn't want someone to "replace" her dad. She still wanted to curl up in a ball, and pity herself. She still wanted to feel the pang in her heart at the mere thought of him. To her, it didn't seem right to go around, "flirting" (as her mom did) when his death was so fresh. She felt like it wasn't respectful towards her dad. Yet, this was the one thing Zach insisted she do, and it was the one thing she didn't like about him.

"You have to accept it. Trust me, by prolonging it, you're hurting yourself, and-and it effects you, makes you do thing that you'd never do." Those had been his exact words, and it made Cammie wonder. Why would he say such things? What was his motive? Or, what drove him to say those? What happened?

Of course, Cammie was in no place to ask him. She could feel his wall. She knew the signs of people closing themselves from others, and Zach seemed to do it more than the average human being.

Five minutes had past, and none of them had said anything. They sat in a silence, and Cammie could feel the tension rising. She didn't know where it was coming from, but it made her uncomfortable.

"How's school?" Was the first thing that came out of her mouth. It was lame, but it actually was a question she wanted an answer from. After her "episode" she was curious as to how everyone reacted.

"Uh, okay I guess. No rumors about you going crazy or anything. I don't think anyone know the reason behind what happened. It seems like everyone just chose to ignore it." Zach replied, looking up into the sky, his hand still stuffed into his pocket. Cammie nodded her head, a signal that she heard, and then she studied Zach. He seemed to get inside her head, know exactly what she's thinking, and exactly what she wanted. And that unnerved her. Maybe this was why he didn't have many friends. He was a great person to talk to, someone you could trust with your words, but he always made you on your toes, and that puzzled Cammie. Maybe that's why he was friends with the jocks. He wasn't in any sport, but he was interesting. He made them think.

Cammie's phone buzzed and she looked down, met with the screen signaling that Macey had texted her. She sighed, and Zach shot her a sympathetic smile. As if he knew her problem with Macey. Again, he knew exactly what was going on inside her head. Cammie chose to ignore it, after all, she was in no mood to deal with Macey. But Zach's phone rang shortly after, and he closed his eye, and answered his phone.

"Hi Marie," he dully said.

"You better get your ass in the firm right now. We have a very important discussion with you, and unless you want to be returned, you better be here in two minutes." The lady in the other end yelled, and Zach glanced at Cammie, embarrassed.

"Yes Ma'am," Zach replied, getting up. He hung up the phone. Cammie opened her mouth, as if to say "it's okay" but Zach beat her to speaking.

"Sorry."

And with that, he sped towards the main road.

Maybe _that _was why the jocks accepted him. He made Usain Bolt have a _run_ for his money. And no pun intended.

* * *

**I could go on about how sorry I am for not updating in forever, but I'm not going to. I feel like you all don't want to hear excuse after excuse (no matter how important they are) about my lack of updates. At this point, I can't promise anything.**

**And, as for the sequel to my other writing, well, it's in hiatus. I have to get all my depressing, dreariness out of my system, and writing this helps.**

**I hope you all enjoyed this as much as I had fun writing it. If you could, I'd appreciate if you could leave me some feedback, this is not edited, so any tips on that would be appreciated. But, if you don't have time, I understand.**

**Love,**

**A Runner At Heart**


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